Eibeaktt-pbojectile



C. P. WATSON.

FIREARM PROJECTILE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. l9. I916.

1,322,662. Patented Nov. 1919.

wmm I 534ml? PW cnmns r. wn'rson, or PHILADELPHIA, rmmsnvnmn.

FIREARM-PROJEC'IILE.

To all whom a ma 00am .Be it known that I, OHARLEsP. WATsoN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in' Firearm-Projectiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in projectiles for fire arms some of wliichare adapted to be used in connection with projectlles of many different sizes and forms, and have for their object to improve the flight of the projectile, while others are more restricted in their application and are particularly adapted for use in connection with mushroom bullets such as are used with sporting rifles in the killing of game, these having especially for their object to render the bullet more destructive in its action, as will be hereinafter pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings V Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a bullet for a sporting rifle made according to my invention,, the core constituting the point of the bullet being represented in elevation.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the bullet.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line IIIIII of Fig. 1.

Referring to these drawings, 2 indicates the body of the bullet, which is formed of lead or other suitable relatively soft metal. This is inclosed by a jacket 3. of harder metal, such as brass. The body 2 and its jacket are cylindrical or taper slightly toward their forward ends. 111 the body 2 is formed a central longitudinal cavity 4 to receive the tapering shank or stem 5 of a core of hard metal, such as-steel, brass or copper, the head or oint 6 of which con stitutes the nose or pointed end of the bullet.

'Between the exposed point 6 and the stem 5 of the core is a tapering shoulder 8 against which bears the forward end of the body 2. Substantially the entire surface of the exposed part or head 6 of the core is pitted or formed with shallow empty recesses, as indicated at 9, the recesses being preferably round in outline and arranged close to each other but not in contact, though they might be of other shape and arrangement from that shown. A bullet such as described'has all of its exposed parts of hard metal, and hence is not liable to be deformed through i such handling, whether careless or other- Specification of Letters Patent. Application nled lanuary 19, 1911i. Serial No. 72,974.

- wise, as it may receive preparatory to being expelled from the rifle upon the discharge thereof.

t The pitting or recessing of the forward tapering end of a projectile, as described, improves 1ts flight, causing it to have a flatter tra ectory and to travel with greater accuracy than does a projectile the nose of which is smooth exteriorly. I believe that this is because the its or recesses 9 become filled with air whic is more or less pocketed or retained, the result being that as the projectile passes through the atmosphere there is friction of air against air to a considerable extent over the penetrating surface of the bullet, instead of metal against air only.

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

Upon the. firing of the gun the steel core will very slightly set back into and expand the body of the bullet, due to the tapering form of the shank of the core, and to the fact that the mass of the core relative to the entire mass of the bullet is sulficient to permit a set-back movement of the core relative to the body, thus forcing the jacket 3 into the rifling of the gun, with the result that the gases of propulsion are retained behind the bullet and their full force made available upon the bullet, and erosion, due to the leakage of gases past the bullet, is reduced to a minimum. The set back of the core is only slight, scarcely noticeable to the eye, but is suflicient to cause the bullet to take the rifling in a very superior manner.

Upon the bullet striking the objective, such as the body of an animal, it readily penetrates, due to the sharp nose or point of the bullet being maintained, owing to the hardness of the core. As soon, however, as the bullet begins to enter the flesh or similar tissue, the pits or shallow recesses 9 become filled therewith and with the liquids it contains, with the result that the bullet is rapidly retarded in its progress, such retardation becoming evident even before the body of the bullet, 2, has entered the tissues. This causes a rather violent set back of the core into the body, and this, by reason of the wedge shape of the part 8 of the core, causes the soft metal of the body 2, and the relatively weak material of .the jacket, to spread; and these spreading sues, due to liquids and particles of tissue' entering the pits or recesses? of the head 6 and then being violently thrown therefrom by centrifugal force.-

In order facilitate the relative movements between the .core and the body 2,

which have been described, I prefer to interpose' a thin coating 10 of some lubricating material between the contacting surfaces of these two parts. Thus I cover may the stem 5 and tapering part 8 of t e core with a thin layer of iplunrbago paint or coating before the coreiis set into the recess 4.- therefor in the body. This Wlll serve to prevent adhesion of the core and body through corrosion or from other causes, and fac' 'itate the movements which havei'been tie-- scribed,-the set back of the core and the forward independent flight thereof after the bullet begins to mushroom; I also refer to coat the exterior of the body with as layer 11 of plumhago or similar material adapted to serve as ;.a heat insulating layer between the jacket 3Jand the body 2 of soft melt-a1.

This insulating layer is employed for the purpose of" preventing the meltinig of the outer part of the body by the hot ases of combustion and propulsion with t e consequent liability of the bullet becoming slightly deformed by reason of such melting of the metal. But a very thin coating of insulating material is suflicient to aifor the protectiondesired, i

The bullet described has many superior features, having great "range and flat strajector'y, due to the full eifect ofthe powder charge being made available, and the re duced air resistance incident to the recessing of the pointed nose of the bullet; and a full mushrooming effect, combined with degp penetration, due to the se aratic-n of bey and core of the bullet a r the obthe bullet after it @parates from the body at the instant the latter mushrooms.

-While I have described the several fea-.

tures of my invention as being embodied' in a single bullet adapted for sportsmens uses,- 1t is evident that some of the features thereof arexof general application to projecti'les of all kinds, part1cularly the pittlng, dentmg, .or recessin' of the exterior of the nose of the project e in order toimprove its fli ht.

What I e aim is':-

A projectile having .a pointed nose;

substantially the entire exposed surface of which is covered with shallow empty pits.- 2. A-bullet having a body of relatively soft metal and a core separate therefrom, the core being shaped with a head constituting the tapering nose'of thebullet and with a tapering shank that is seated in said body, there being between the'body and the core a lubricating material whereby tipon the firing of the cartridge the cre sets back slightly ex anding the body to cause it to take the r' ing of the n. 1

3. A mushrooming fillet comprising a body of soft metal, a jacket thereforyand a core having ahead that constitutes the exposed. nose ofthe bullet and is exteriorly' recessed or pitted, a relativel lon taper- 111g stem seated centrally in t -e soit metal body of the bullet, and a tapering part between the head and stem: arranged to serve as a wedge to start a mushrooming action upon impact of the bullet, the core being easily separable from the body of the bullet,

upon the mushrooming thereof, whereby it is adapted to travel forward independently as a piercing dart.

CHARLES P. WATSON. 

